Taking a Deeper Dive

In the words of my logistical star of a sister, "Let's take a deeper dive."

Why on Earth am I doing this trip?

Because I don't have the means to do it on another planet.

Without a doubt this trip is motivated by some selfish pursuits. Among them are the following:

1. I need a chance to process, reflect, reckon, and come to terms with things. 
2. I want my decisions (at least for the course of a year) to be meditated. College has converted my certainties to conundrums. But not in a bad way.
3. I want to slow down to a pace that actually involves thought. That's the only way to be. 
4. I am growing tired of my hand on that synthetic syphon and obsessed about the wonder of birds.
5. I want those things that I take for granted: a cold drink, a good meal, shade, to feel like the luxuries that they really are. 

Besides, I never make good New Year's Resolutions.

So yeah, there are many I's involved in my thinking. But I do hope that some lessons can be shared from my adventures. Among these projected ideas are:

• The potential of the human body
• The beauty of birds
• A decently paced life

To expound upon these points: Is it not amazing how changeable and capable our bodies are? I want to accomplish something amazing by simply relying upon the work of art that is the human body. I'm not saying that we shouldn't indulge in the creations of our race (like our transportation innovations), I'm just saying that relying on those mechanisms blinds us to our potential and imparts a false sense of need. 

Birds. Birds are freaking amazing. We've been obsessed with them forever because there's so much to learn from them. Our winged friends offer lessons in love, struggle, strength, humility, and pride. They also please visually and auditorily. And the best part about it? Appreciating them is free and accessible to all. I mean, birds are freaking everywhere! You can't say that about a lot of things that occupy the time of the human race, like WiFi, electricity, and Starbucks. But birds always have your back. When you're not gelling with people, birds don't care. While they won't listen to your troubles and look for solutions with you, their bliss and their detached behavior may remind you to reflect on the importance of your concerns. 

Why rush, humanity? What's the big rush for progress? What clock is humanity racing against? In our frenzy to live a fulfilled life with no wasted time, we are speeding up and degrading our decision-making. As our decision-making degrades, the place that we call home degrades. All in the name of progress. But a more thoughtful examination of these so-called achievements reveals that we are compromising the existence of our fellow inhabitants of the Earth and our collective future generations in an effort to quickly check all of our boxes.

In this year I will be checking many boxes. Hopefully they are the ones that are next to names like Hook-billed Kite, Emperor Goose, and Sprague's Pipit. But these aren't the kind of boxes that have the tip-of-the-iceberg effect that I was describing above. They're not boxes that promise success and contentment at the surface and impart destruction and negative side effects outside of the practitioner's view. The boxes that I will be checking are ones that offer a lifelong sense of love and satisfaction and offer absolutely no harm to third parties.

Is this reading as vague as I pictured that it would? Good deal.

Now onto my reading list...

The Titles

A big part of the preparation for the year is cashing in on my cultural education. I have to stay in the zone and stay focused in the face of doubts and concerns. What follow are some titles that are keeping me on heels in chasing this dream.

Desert Solitaire. This is a good one because there is a bird name in the title.

To Shake the Sleeping Self. A chronicle of independence and adventure that is a must for those undertaking self-propelled long-distance pilgrimages. 

Diarios de Motocicleta. Okay, I didn't actually read this one. But I watched the movie! It was one of those reassuring moments leading up to this undertaking, like a blessing from the enigmatic Ché. I watched during my semester in Perú. Speaking of, I blogged about that to get in a little practice in writing and to muster up an even littler following. But hey, it's quality, not quantity that counts.

Kingbird Highway. I mean reading this book is inspiration to shoot for the stars. I am no Kenn Kaufman, but you've got to have role models.

A Season on the Wind. I have yet to dig into this one, but the idea is to unlock the qualities of great birders.

The Big Year. A killer movie that could easily serve as the best introduction of birding to a layperson ever. I also gotta read this.

There are and will be others, but this represents a great motivational starter-pack for me.

The Charities

I've gotta get this in place. That's kind of the idea with this blog anyway. I must have something to point at when I ask the American Birding Association and the Nature Conservancy if I can have donation links to their organizations on my site.

The next few posts leading up to the big year will follow the planning process. It may be dry reading, but it will help me think out loud and may be valuable to another fanatical person like me that feels very strongly about doing something like this.